


quicksand

by phasma



Category: Free!
Genre: F/F, at the beach, they're all trans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 07:31:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4339514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phasma/pseuds/phasma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a day at the beach with the whole gang. haru is late, and rin wants to be swallowed by the sand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	quicksand

**Author's Note:**

> it's two in the morning, i have to do jazzercise at seven, and this just started out as a shower thought of rin gettin flustered @ haru in a bikini. then i started writing about sand?? also, i couldn't casually slip this in anywhere, but imagine rei with a pixie cut in this. yeee.

Quicksand is slow.

Slow to swallow, slow to pose any real threat, and Rin wonders for just a second if the sand of the beach is made of quicksand, working at stupidly slow speeds because there's just so much of it all in one place. And if she just lies on her blanket and thinks of nothing but the sand around and beneath her, she can feel herself melting into sand, soon (but not very soon) to be buried by each sinking grain. Unlike an hourglass, it seems that every speck of sand being pulled deeper into the earth counts each passing minute, or even hour. Rin wouldn't be surprised if they were counting hours, because she has been waiting forever. The sluggishness of the sand would perfectly match Haruka's own.

But seriously, when was she going to get here.

Glancing up, Rin immediately recoils from accidentally staring straight into the sun. Haru was supposed to be here at eleven thirty, and now that it's closer to noon, Rin has every right to be irritated.

She leans up, resting on her forearms, and stares ahead at her other friends who, unlike a certain swimmer, actually show up to scheduled beach days on time. Makoto's standing ankle-deep in crystal blue water, taking visibly deep breathes, probably coming to terms with the ocean, but still hesitant. Rin can respect that, and she smiles upon noticing how her friend's ponytail in the wind mirrors the lazy waves hugging her feet, telling her it'll be alright. A quick shift of focus a meter to Makoto's left, and Rin spots three underclassmen: two dorks, and her brother ( _three dorks_?). Blonde, cropped curls spraying water in every direction, Nagisa shrieks as she chastises Gou for splashing her, and tries to return the favour quickly, unless Rei has anything to say about it. Rin snorts at her futile attempts at trying to keep some level of peace between the two, and reclines back onto her blanket, which is a touch warmer from being exposed to more sunlight.

Rin had coolly declined the others' requests to join them in the early minutes of the get-together, but is now getting increasingly antsy, completely willing and ready to jump into the water at any given moment. It is literally _right there_ , and she already has her bathing suit on... but then again, she already made a commitment to wait for Haruka on the land, next to all the picnic supplies and everyone's discarded shoes and outerwear. Of course, she never let anyone in on said commitment, not even Haru, but she sure as hell is sticking to it, even if it means scorching and burning in the process.

The sand. She thinks about the sand again. How gritty it is, how awful it feels to get stuck in teeth after wiping out from failed surfing attempts in Australia, and how different the sand is here than back there. Rin never paid much mind to the sand in Australia, but she imagines it must be different. More closely related to quicksand, but that'd probably only be wishful thinking on twelve-year-old Rin's part. How she would have loved to be gobbled up by the sand the first time she ran onto the beach to look out at the ocean--the ocean that connected her and her friends, her and her Nanase--and was hit with a pang of nostalgia so articulate it knocked the wind right out of her. Sand would be a god awful substitute for oxygen, however, and it's only later that she learns water is the only thing that's sufficient to sate her lungs. Ew. She's starting to sound like Haruka.

Speak of the devil, the _crish crush_ of shoes on sand gets closer and closer to Rin's ears, and she can't feel relieved, can't feel frustrated, only embarrassed at how eagerly she sits up when the sounds cease, when she was the one who had to wait here for eons. To compensate, she tries to look up as nonchalantly as possible, one hand shielding the sun from her eyes.

It was worth the wait.

It makes Rin instantly place her hands on her own swimsuit self-consciously, yeah, but it also makes her face heat up for a thousand reasons, because _Haru_ has shown up in a _bikini_ and looks _smokin' hot_ to boot. She sticks out like a sore thumb, since everyone else is either just wearing their usual suits or casual summer clothes, but doesn't she always? Whether it's because she's the fastest swimmer Rin knows, or because her eyes are so electric blue Rin's afraid they'll blind her, Haru has never failed to catch Rin's eye. This is no exception.

Really, the get-up isn't anything garish, and if Rin had known it was a-okay to wear anything other than her standard swimwear, she would've worn something even more wild. Possibly in animal print. But Haruka has an unmatched air of elegance about her that makes her so outstanding. A simple navy bandeau with a warm pink floral pattern and accompanying bottoms are all it takes for Rin to go slack-jawed and blush something fierce.

Haru's formerly vacant face is critical now as she stares Rin down.

"What are you wearing?", she quips.

Awaken from her daze, Rin thoughtlessly laughs a bit in disbelief. "Well hello to you, too!" She scoots to give Haru some room and pats the spot on the blanket next to her. As her friend sits down, she continues, "And what am _I_ wearing? Have you seen yourself?"

"Yes, and I'd assumed everyone else would dress like this too," Haru huffs out, looking ahead at the ocean with near-visible heart eyes. Rin studies Haru's face now, and notices the ever-so-subtle lip bite and crease of eyebrows. Is Haruka... _embarrassed_? Surely the girl who wilfully strips whenever she is in a two-meter radius of water isn't embarrassed by wearing a cute swimsuit in front of her friends. It's modest enough, and if anything, it only makes the gorgeous edges of Haru's body more refined. Nothing to be embarrassed about at all. Doesn't she know this?

Rin has a new private commitment now, however mawkish it may be. Before she can second guess herself, she takes one of Haruka's hands in her own and laces their fingers, then slowly brings the seized hand to her lips for a soft kiss. It's only meant to reassure her, Rin tells herself as she turns to Haru and lowers their hands. "But now you look twice as lovely as everyone else."

The signature side-eyed glance, then, "Even you?"

Rin counters with a signature shark-toothed grin. "Especially me!"

And there it is, the miniscule quirk of Haru's lip that lets Rin know Haru believes her, and Rin tightens her grip on her hand in response. The water is _right there_ , and Haruka sat down with Rin. In a bikini. Thank whatever force in existence that the sand never managed to swallow Rin whole. She'd miss out on a sight she's never seen before.

Sighing as if sitting with Rin is exhausting (which it is to some extent), Haru sweeps her thumb once across Rin's before helping herself up from the blanket and subsequently untangling their fingers, heading straight for the water in front of her. Rin makes a garbled sound at the back of her throat because, _wow, rude_.

Haru turns around in her tracks and looks at Rin in a meager attempt to get her to ask an honest to goodness question. When she's only met by blinking eyes and raised eyebrows, Haruka shuts her own eyes and exhales, smiling to herself. Then, with the swiftness of the ocean breeze, pivots towards the ocean again and scoffs over her shoulder, "Wouldn't want to get your suit wet out here, would we?" And if that weren't enough, she winks before running to the water and diving in under the waves.

Actually, being swallowed whole by the sand doesn't sound too bad right now.

**Author's Note:**

> i tried slipping a wet pun in??? it didn't work???? i'm so sorry, i'm goin to sleep now, i'm sorry.


End file.
